


in which Dryl has no discernible system of government

by apprenticenanoswarm



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:47:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24461521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apprenticenanoswarm/pseuds/apprenticenanoswarm
Summary: seriously does anyone think Entrapta knows how to run a country
Relationships: Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 200





	in which Dryl has no discernible system of government

Where was Entrapta’s throne?

Its absence was, granted, hardly her castle’s _most_ curious aspect.

(No, that would be the large jar of formaldehyde that was currently the castle dungeon’s only occupant, inside of which floated something that looked _very_ much like a hand. When he’d asked who it belonged to, she’d laughed and changed the subject.)

Nonetheless, it preoccupied Hordak’s thoughts. She was the Princess of Dryl. A ruler. Rulers had thrones. Big broth – _Horde Prime’s_ throne had been the heart of his ship; no matter where Hordak had gone, he’d known exactly how far away it was, felt its presence in his mind like an anchor. When Hordak had been cut off from the hive for the first time (and, consequently, in the midst of what, with the benefit of hindsight, he recognised as a catastrophic nervous breakdown), his first act, prior to acquiring soldiers or territory, had been to make himself a throne out of rocks and dirt. It had made him feel considerably better.

And Entrapta didn’t seem to have one. Nor even a room where one would go; only dozens of laboratories, storage rooms, and a kitchen.

What was going on? Queen Glimmer had a throne. Princess Mermista had a throne. Why had Entrapta been deemed unworthy?

Righteous outrage on her behalf overcame him and he went to her side immediately.

“Yeah, my moms were both social scientists and they concluded that absolute monarchies were among the least logical ways to structure a government,” she explained, busy cleaning her tools. “They got rid of the throne, the crown, the stables, the land, and most of the servants. They were going to set up a Parliament but then they died and I was left in charge. And I was nine, and I kinda didn’t know what a Parliament was, and, I mean, I tried to read up about it but social science is REALLY hard and, honestly, I just wanted to make robots, so I sent letters to all the villages in Dryl telling them to do whatever they wanted, and then I went into my lab and I stayed there for the next ten years.”

So many of Hordak’s assumptions about the way things were supposed to be had been uprooted lately. The perfection of Horde Prime? A lie. The necessity of conquest? A lie. The inferiority of all organic lifeforms? A lie. Having been wrong about so many things, he was unwilling to voice his instinctive opinion that Entrapta’s parents had been raving lunatics who’d hopelessly destabilised their society and left Entrapta to clean up the mess.

Instead, he said, tentatively, “And did that work?”

“Um… dunno? I haven’t really checked. No one’s told that it’s _not_ working, so…”

Hordak mulled that over for a while.

A people without a ruler. What a strange thought. The part of him that still belonged to Prime was vaguely horrified. Surely they’d descended into anarchy by now – perhaps even wiped themselves out!

But no. No. Rulers were _not_ necessary. Horde Prime had been a ruler. Hordak did not need Horde Prime. **_Did not_**. He could make decisions for himself. Other people could also make decisions for themselves; could live and be free and be contented without someone telling them how.

In fact, wasn’t this a golden opportunity? 

“Entrapta, would you be averse to my meeting your people? Asking them how they manage without the guidance of a central authority figure?”

She blinked up at him, her hair forming a protective cocoon around her. “You think I’ve been letting them down?”

Horror ran through him like an electroshock. “No! No. Forgive me. I phrased that poorly.”

Moving stiffly, for it was cold today and his joints ached, he sat down next to her. “When I was connected to the hive, everything was straightforward. My life was governed by a very short list of rules. Now those rules are gone and I must learn how to exist without them. It’s... frightening. Whenever I’m not in your company, I’m overwhelmed with fear.”

He watched her large, intelligent eyes process that. “Hmm. I wasn’t aware. Interesting.” 

“I don’t wish to be dependent on you. I don’t wish to be a burden to you. As such, I need to be able to function in your absence. To do that, I need to control my fear. To do _that_ , I need to know how to live a leaderless life. My hope is that your people can provide me with insight. Do you understand?”

“Affirmative,” she said, folding her gloved hands under her chin. “And your methodology is sound. Yes – field research is a good starting point. Let’s get going!”

In seconds, her hair packed away the hundred or so tools spread out over her workstation.

“Now?” he asked, alarmed. He’d expected at least a few days to build up the courage to leave the castle and re-enter the world he’d torn apart. “Er... aren’t you busy?”

“Hordak,” she said gravely, “you are my foremost priority. Ah! You know what we should do? We should wear disguises! Widespread knowledge of our identities on the public’s part will influence the quality of the data we receive.”

Relieved, he said, “Yes, I agree. Though our appearances are quite distinctive.”

“Not a problem! I’ve been working with hologram tech lately. Give me a few hours to put something together. You look at the map of Dryll in that drawer over there and decide where we should go first. Hee! We’re gonna have an _undercover_ _science vacation_!”

The hot, crackling feeling that regularly sparked in his chest when Entrapta was most herself came upon him again. As usual, he didn’t know what to do with it. Then inspiration struck. When She Ra had freed him from Horde Prime, the single greatest act of strength and mercy he’d ever witnessed, she’d...

“Eh?” went Entrapta as Hordak gently placed his claws on either side of her head, cupping her heart-shaped face. “This – huh. This is new. I don’t understand it. I _think_ I like it?”

“I lack the words to express how important you are.”

“Oh! That’s okay. Both my moms often relied on nonverbal communication.”

She clapped her hands on either side of his face and said, “Let’s make this our way of reminding one another that we’re super important, okay?”

He smiled. “Yes. I’d like that.”

Quick as lightning, she leaned up and pressed her dry lips to his. Then she drew back, saying, “We’ll need to pack light. Our cover story will be that we’re scrap metal merchants who lost our way in a storm, and we’re looking for...”

As she outlined their plans, detailing and revising them as she went, Hordak, for the first time ever, felt something other than adoration or hatred towards Horde Prime. For an instant, barely an instant, he felt pity for the creature that had never been graced with Entrapta’s friendship, nor with the chance of a life on this peculiar planet among its peculiar inhabitants.

Then he tossed such pointless sentiment aside and set about finding the map.


End file.
